When I became a paralegal in 1985 there was only ONE paralegal school in the entire southeast! Yes, just one. I had never heard the word "paralegal" until a few months before I started school.
The National Center for Paralegal Training. It was in an office building right across the street from a mall. I used to go and walk around the mall every day after class, while I waited for my ride to finish class. I remember the mall vividly.
I barely recall anything I learned in class.
I had to choose between Litigation, Corporate, or Real Estate law. I like small class sizes and I had no idea what I was doing, so I chose Corporate. Nobody told me that I would find it impossible to get a job in Corporate.
We were exposed to the other areas briefly. I think I had 3 hours of instruction in Litigation. I barely knew the difference between a Plaintiff and a Defendant when that was all over.
My first job was as a Litigation paralegal for an insurance defense firm. I had no idea what I was doing. (I wrote about my experiences in my book Talking Back: Stories from the Big Hair and Pantyhose Years, available on Amazon...)
left, me and Dad, early in my career
I was lucky because I got my first job because my dad was a trust banker and he gave the law firm a lot of business, so they hired me as a favor to him. He told the lawyers who hired me, "If she doesn't do a good job, FIRE her! I won't hold it against you."
Way to go with the vote of confidence, Dad. To me, privately, he said "Show up on time, work hard, be nice, don't argue, never say "that's not my job," and make me proud."
Dad believed strongly in nepotism but he always warned me and Brother to work our butts off or risk his wrath. We did.
Today, there are many schools turning out very qualified paralegals, no doubt. The education of a paralegal is SO much better than it was in my day. Still, nothing beats experience.
So I'm in social media groups for paralegals and every other day someone posts and says they just finished paralegal school and they can't find a job. I am very sympathetic.
First, a couple of facts.
Where you live matters.
Big cities like Atlanta, New York, Dallas, etc. have a huge pool of paralegals to choose from so they can be very picky. Answer ads for a receptionist, a project assistant, an admin -- whatever gets your foot in the door. No, you likely won't make great money but you will gain valuable experience. As you move up the career ladder the money will get better, but you have to start somewhere.
Smaller towns, like Knoxville, are a bit easier, but the real opportunity is in a much smaller place, not right next to a big metro area. There, the candidate pool is much smaller. Sole practitioners are far more likely to hire and train you.
If you're a receptionist at a small town firm for a year, you're way ahead of the candidate with no law firm experience, even if you don't like the firm and they don't promote you.
Second, despite the promises of your school, you will likely not make a six figure salary for many years, if ever. You may even need to take on a second job in the early days, to pay the bills.
Unfortunately, for most paralegals there is not really a career ladder within a firm. Usually only large firms have someone in charge of all the paralegals.
Third, network network, NETWORK.
Is your next door neighbor a lawyer? Chat with them when you see them. Let them know you want to break into the legal profession and you're in paralegal school, or you just graduated. Smile. Be nice. Even if they aren't hiring at their firm, they probably have dozens of lawyer friends and they might forward your resume and recommend you as a pleasant, obviously intelligent person who is willing to work hard. Like most humans, lawyers often look favorably on someone who comes recommended, regardless of experience.
Lawyers are everywhere. Maybe someone at your church is a lawyer. Maybe your daughter's soccer coach is a lawyer. etc.
The point is to think outside the box.
I know how stressful it is to job hunt. I've spent a lot of time looking for jobs over the years. I wrote a little book to help paralegals called Paralegal 911: Tips, Tricks and Timesavers for the Litigation Paralegal, and there's an entire chapter devoted to job hunting as a newbie. Check it out.
#findingthefirstlegaljob, #paralegaljobhunting, #tipsforjobhunters, #paralegaljobtips
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